El Diario/La Prensa reports that Dominicans are complaining that they do not have high level representation in the Bronx, while both the Manhattan and Brooklyn borough presidents have named Dominicans as their second in command.

As her husband clings to life in New York after being shot during a robbery, Dominican Marilia Bautista desperately tries to obtain permission to come to the U.S. to visit him. Despite letters from officials, her visa application was denied, reports El Diario-La Prensa.

Elected officials and Upper Manhattan residents praised President Obama’s choice of an openly gay ambassador to the Dominican Republic, while at the same time criticizing the heated opposition to the decision on the part of the island’s religious leaders.

Kurumazushi restaurant employee María Román tells El Diario-La Prensa how she stepped into the field of sushi preparation. Juggling hundred-pound fish and dismissive clients keep her on her toes but she’s proud to show her daughters that women can do the jobs once restricted to men.

The Dominican consulate in New York will act as a facilitator between the uninsured and healthcare providers, reports El Diario-La Prensa. It’s good news for some in a community where many don’t have health insurance but for others, it’s just a “political ploy.”

Local businesses along Broadway in Washington Heights and Inwood face rising rent and the arrival of chain stores in their fight for survival, reports Manhattan Times. As landlords warm up to upscale businesses, residents say the changes have altered the culture of the community.

As the White House urged Congress to withhold $600 million in nutrition assistance to Puerto Rico, officials responded angrily that this is only the latest in a series of President Trump’s attempts to stop the flow of federal aid to the island, El Nuevo Día reports. Political analyst Domingo Emanuelli found the Trump government's actions “barbaric,” and urged Puerto Rican Republicans to reconsider their allegiance. San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz said: “I shouted against Trump’s abuses from the start while others were chummy with him. Trump is not the plantation owner and we are not his slaves.” Link to original story →

The Indigenous Peoples March being held in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 18, a day ahead of the Women's March, will bring together groups from Puerto Rico to South America and Central America, reports Remezcla, to focus attention on issues from voter suppression to human trafficking to police brutality to what is called an “environmental holocaust” by activists. “I think it’s a collective cry for help because we’re in a time of crisis that we have not seen in a very long time,” says Nathalie Farfan, an Ecuadorean Indigenous woman and event organizer. Link to original story →

After vowing to create a more inclusive school system in North Carolina, the Durham Board of Education introduced a new department of second language services to serve newly-arrived immigrants who don’t speak English as a first language, Qué Pasa Noticias reports. One of the main goals of the initiative will be to coordinate a translation and interpretation system to help families participate in their children’s education. “As our Latinx population keeps growing we keep opening our schools’ doors to those arriving from all over the world,” said Superintendent Pascal Mubenga. Link to original story →

With Sen. Kamala Harris expected to announce her decision on a presidential run, The American Bazaar asks members of the Indian-American community about the potential candidacy of the California native. While some celebrated the possibility of Harris, who is of Jamaican-Indian descent, running amid the current political atmosphere, others say the country is "still not ready for a female president and certainly not a non-white." Link to original story →